Automatic sheet cutting and stacking machine



Oct. 16, 1951 F. R. PIPER ETAL 2,571,941

AUTOMATIC SHEET CUTTING AND STACKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May13, 1949 ATTOR N KY6 Oct. 16, 1951 -1 R plPER m- 2,571,941

AUTOMATIC SHEET CUTTING AND STACKING MACHINE Filgd May 13, 1949 3Sheets-Sheet 2 lam, P 4/ JamesMGaa-dner ATTOR N EYJ Oct. 16, 1951 F. R.PIPER ETAL AUTOMATIC SHEET CUTTING AND STACKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed May 13, 1949 E'amEB.P v:per l Jwmeslf. Gardner ATTORNEYS PatentedOct. 16, 1951 AUTOMATIC SHEET CUTTING AND STACKING MACHINE Frank R.Piper and James M. Gardner, Fairfax, Ala., assignors to West PointManufacturing Company, West Point, Ga., a corporation of GeorgiaApplication May 13, 1949, Serial No. 93,172

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for cutting a continuous sheet ofmaterial into segments and stacking said segments in aligned relation.

Sheet cutting machines are well-known in the art, as illustrated by thepatent to Beck, Number 1,962,128, June 12, 1934. A primary object ofthis invention is to provide in combination with a sheet cuttingmechanism as shown in the Beck patent a novel means for stacking the cutsegments.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide incombination a well-known mechanism for cutting a continuous sheet ofpaper. fabric or other material into segments of variable predeterminedlengths and for successively placing said segments on a conveyor and anovel mechanism for successively receiving said segment= from theconveyor in stacked relation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an adiustahle means forregulatin the operation of the receiving mechanism in accordance withthe len ths of the segments being cut so as to enable the segments to bestacked in aligned relation irrespective of their particular len ths.

The invention further resides in certain novel structural features andoperating details hereinafter described and illustrated in the attacheddrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the machine;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 4;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a front elevational detail view of the crank mechanism forreciprocating the stacking receiver;

Figure 6 is to top plan view of the crank mechanism shown in Figure 5:

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view of the crank mechanism taken onthe line of carriage and stacking receiver spaced therefrom. A bracemember I5 is rigidly secured to the side frame H and the uprightsupporting member I3 and a bracemember I6 is similiarly joined to theside frame l2 and the upright supporting member l4. A horizontal anglemember I! is secured to the supporting members I3, l4 so as to hold themin rigid spaced relation with respect to each other and a horizontalmember I8 is similarly secured to the side frames l2. Integrally formedwith the side frames II and I2 are oppositely disposed hearings I9, 20.Rotatably mounted within the bearings I9, 20 is a conveyor roll shaft2|. Flanges 22 and 23 are respectively secured to the upright supportingmembers l3 and I4 and each of the flanges 22, 23 has a bearing thereinfor rotatably mounting a second conveyor roll shaft 24. Looped aroundthe conveyor roll shafts 2| and 24 are a plurality of spaced continuousconveyor belts 25. It will be obvious that a single wide conveyor beltmay be substituted for the plurality of narrow belts 25.

Adjacent the roll shaft 2| are two bearing brackets 26 and 21 forrotatably mounting a shaft- 28 therein. Fixed to the shaft 28 is a gear29 non-rotatably mounted thereon and similarly secured to the roll shaft2| is a gear 30 for engaging the gear 29. The shaft 28 also has gears3|, 32 and 33 of increasing diameter in the order recited andnon-rotatably mounted thereon. A yoke 34 has rotatably mounted thereintwo mutually engaged gears 35 and 36. The gear 35 is adapted to engageselectively either of the gears 3|, 32. 33 depending upon the positionof the yoke 34. The gear 36 is non-rotatably and slidably mounted on ashaft 31 which, in turn, is rotatably mounted between the side framesl2. The yoke 34 may be moved to either of the selected positions bymeans of the handle 39 and locked securely in the selected position bymeans of the slotted locking bar 40, as is well-known in the art anddisclosed in detail in the abovecitedpatent to Beck.

Non-rotatably mounted on the shaft 31 is a plurality of contiguous gears38 of successively increasing diameter so as to form a gear cone.Integrally formed with the side plates 2 are oppositely disposedbearings 4| and 42 for rotatably mounting a shaft 43. Slidably keyed onthe shaft 43 is a gear 45 which engages a gear 46, both gears 45 and 46being rotatably mounted in a yoke 44. The gear 46 is adapted toselectively engage any one of the gears 38 depending upon the positionof the yoke 44. A locking bar 41 is adapted to hold the yoke 44 in theselected position. A gear 68 is secured to the shaft 43 and engages anidler gear 48 which latter is mounted on a shaft 48 and freely rotatablewith respect thereto. The gear 48, in turn, engages the feeding rollgear 58 which is non-rotatably secured to a driver feeding roll An idlerfeeding roll 52 is mounted on the shaft 43 to cooperate with the driverfeeding roll II.

The gear 30 also engages a gear 3| secured to a rotatably mounted shaft82. A cutting tool holder 53 is non-rotatably mounted on the shaft 52and has at one end a cutting knife 64 and at the opposite end acounterweight 65.

The power source for the machine is shown in the form of an electricmotor 53 connected by a belt 55 to the input shaft 55 of a geartransmission 54. The output shaft 58 of the transmission 54 drives a.belt 51 which, in turn, drives a pulley 58 freely rotatable on the endof the conveyor roll shaft 2|. A driven clutch plate |3| is fixedlysecured to the shaft 2| and a driver clutch plate I32 is rotatablymounted with respect to the'shaft 2| and adjacent the clutch plate |3|for engaging the latter. A lever I33 is pivoted intermediate its ends atI38 and has one end engaging an end of the clutch plate I32 whereby whenthe lever I33 is pivoted in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure'3, the clutch plate I32 will be forced against the clutch plate |3| soas to form a driving connection therebetween and so as to allow thepulley 58 to drive the conveyor roll shaft 2|. Connected to the otherend of the lever I33 is a link I34 which, in turn, is connected to aclutch actuating-handle I35 pivoted to the upright supporting member I3.

It will be thus seen that the actuation of the handle I 35 serves toconnect the conveyor roll shaft 2| to the power means so as to drivesaid shaft 2|. The electric motor 53 operates at a constant speed andhence the roll shaft 2| will drive the conveyor belts 25 at a constantspeed. The gear 38 which is secured to the roll shaft 2| drives theshaft 28 by means of the gear 28 secured to the latter. The motion ofthe shaft 28, in turn, imparts motion to the shaft 3'! by means of gears35, 36 and either of gears 3|, 32 or 33. It will be thus seen that theangular speed of shaft 31 may be varied by selectively engaging the gear35 with either of the gears 3|, 32 or 33. Rotation of shaft 31, in turn,imparts motion to the shaft 43 through gears 38, 48 and 45., It willalso be obvious that the angular speed of shaft 43 may be varied byselectively engaging gear 48 with any one of the gears 38. Rotation ofthe shaft 43 in turn causes the driver feeding roll 5| to rotate bymeans of gears 88, 48, and 58.

The continuous sheets of material to be cut into segments are shown inFigure l in the form of three rolls I8 rotatably mounted at II on ahorizontal support I2 which, in turn, is mounted on the upright framemembers I3 and I4. Adjacent the upper portion of the member I4 is aguide roll I5 and a second guide I6 is rotatably mounted on a bracket IIof the machine. In this particular embodiment of the invention, thereare shown three sheets of material being fed simultaneously to themachine but it will be understood that asingle sheet or any number ofsheets may be simultaneously fed, cut and stacked in superimposedrelation.

The sheets I8 are drawn off the rolls I8 up around the guide roll I5 andthence down beneath the guide rolls I6 and through the feeding rolls 5|and 52 and over a stationary cutting knife (not shown). The rotation ofthe conveyor r011 shaft 2| at constant speed will cause the gear SI andhence the cutting blade 54 to rotate at a constant angular velocity. Therotary cutting blade 64 will sweep past the fixed cutting blade onceduring each cycle of revolution so as to cut segments from thecontinuous sheets I8 at definite constant intervals of time. In theembodiment shown in Figure 1 wherein three sheets I8 are simultaneouslyfed to the machine, a group of three superimposed segments will be cutfrom the three superimposed sheets I3 during each cycle of revolution ofthe rotary cutting blade 54. ously-cut superimposed segments in thegroup will be equal to the number of sheets I8. It is to be understoodthat the terms segment" and "group of segments" as used in thespecification and particularly in the claims are intended to besynonymous and interchangeable depending upon whether a single sheet I8or a plurality of sheets I8 are fed to the machine. The angular velocityof the driver feeding roll 5| may be adjusted by selectively positioningthe yokes 34 and 44 and thereby the sheets I8 may be fed at a desiredpredetermined rate of speed. It will thus be seen that by passing thesheets 18 over the fixed cutter at different rates of speed, theconstant velocity rotary cutter 64 will sever segments having lengthsdirectly proportional to the speed of the driver feeding roll 5|. Thesuccessively-cut groups of superimposed segments are allowed to fallupon the upper portions of the conveyor belts 25 successively atconstant intervals of time irrespective of the lengths of the segmentsbeing cut.

Due to the fact that the rotary cutting blade 84 is geared to theconveyor roll shaft 2| the conveyor belt will move equal distancesduring each cutting cycle and hence the segment groups are positionedupon the upper portions of the belts 25-at constant intervals of beltlength irrespective of the lengths of the segments being cut. Variationin the lengths of the segments will serve only to vary the gaps betweensuccessive segment groups lying upon the conveyor belts 25. The conveyorroll shaft 2| is rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1so as to cause the upper portions of the looped belts 25 upon which thesegment groups are successively placed to move in a direction away fromthe conveyor roll shaft 2| and toward the conveyor roll shaft 24 whichlatter is located at what may be termed the discharge end of theconveyor.

It is to be understood that the above-described mechanisms of thesubject machine are old and well-known in the art and reference is madeto the above-cited Beck patent for a more detailed structural andoperational description. Hereinbelow will be described the improvementswhich, separately, and in combination with the abovedescribed structure,comprise the subject invention.

Referring particularly to Figure 4, a horizontal supporting member 8| issecured between the side frames II, I2 and parallel to the horizontalangle member II. Supported on the members 8| and I1 and rigidly securedthereto are parallel horizontally-spaced track members 82 and 83 each ofL-shaped formation and having a horizontal leg 84 and exterior verticallegs 85, as best shown in Figure 9. Supporting blocks 82', as shown inFigure 2. are mounted between track members 82, 83 and the horizontalsupporting member 8| in order to provide clearance for 8.

Obviously, the number of simultane- 82, 83. Secured at opposite ends ofthe bar 81 are upright members 69 having sockets 90 extending throughoutthe upper portions thereof. A stacking receiver, indicated generally at9| comprises two vertically-disposed members 92' adapted to be insertedand held in the sockets 90. As shown in Figure 2, ahorizontally-disposed stack supporting member 94 is secured to thevertical members 92 by means of weldinga cross brace 95- to the members92 as at I96. It will be seen in Figure 2 that the tack supportingmember 94 comprises two downwardly diverging walls 96 and 91 whereby thesupporting member 94 is of a substantially prismatic shape and of asubstantially inverted V-shape in cross-section.- A horizontal stacksupporting rod 93 is integrally formed with the vertical members 92. Theupper rounded portion 98 of the stack supporting member 94 is downwardlyspaced from the horizontal stack supporting rod 93. A longitudinalsleeve 99 formed of a material having a high coeflicient of friction maybe mounted on the stacking rod 93 for a purpose to be described below;

Rigidly secured between the side frames II, I2 is a horizontal beam I I,as best shownin Figures 1 and 4. Secured to the beam- I. 0 I f a bearingI02 and integrally formed with thel'side framei I2 is an oppositelyaligned bearingiI03 for rotatably mounting a shaft I04. Fixedlysecuredto the end of the shaft I04 is a sprocket I05 driven by a chaindrive I06 which in turn-is'driven by a sprocket I01 mounted on the shaft28.

At the opposite end of the shaft I04 is an adjustable crank memberindicated generally at I01. As best shown in Figures 5 to 8, the crankmemebr I01 comprises a drive crank plate I08 and a driven crank plateI09. The plate I08 has an opening 209 therein for receiving the enlargedportion I05 of the shaft I04. The clearance between the opening 209 andthe enlarged portion I05 is negative so as to provide a press fit andthereby prevent relative rotation between the plate I08 and the shaftI04. The shoulder plate 2| 0 is secured to the plate I08 by means ofscrews III so as to abut the shoulder H2 and thereby prevent relativelateral displacement of the plate I08 and the shaft I04. At the end ofthe enlarged portion I05 is a substantially conical portion II3 of theshaft I04. The driven crank plate I09 has a conical recess I I0 adaptedto receive the conical portion II3 of the shaft I04. The driven crankplate I09 is freely rotatable on the shaft I04 and, therefore, free torotate with respect to the drive crank plate I08.

Circularly disposed about the axis of the shafts are a plurality ofrecess H4 in that face 2I4 of the driven crank plate I09 which isadjacent the drive crank plate I08. Slidably mounted within a bore II5within the drive crank plate I08 is a detent II6 adapted to beselectively engaged in the recesses I I4. A collar I I1 is secured tothe detent H6 and a compression spring II8 surrounds the detent I I6 andis adapted to exert a reaction against the bottom I I9 of the bore I I5and against the collar I I! so as to bias the detent I I6 outwardly ofthe bore I I5 and into one of the recesses II4. A handle I20 is securedto the end of the detent I I6 whereby the operator may withdraw thedetent IIB from the particular recess 6 H4 in which it may be engaged soas to allow for relative rotary movement of the crank plates I08 andI09. It will thus be seen that the crank plates I08 and I09 may bedrivingly connected in any selected one of a plurality of alternativeangular relationships depending upon which par-' ticular recess I I4 isengaged by the detent I I6.

Secured to the surface I20 of the driven crank plate I09 is a crank pinI 2I offset with respect to the axis of the shaft 'I04. A substantiallyfork-shaped connecting rod I22 comprises a member I23 having a bearingI24 rotatably mounted on the crank pin I2I. The opposite end of theconnecting rod I22 comprises the legs I25 of the forked portion whichare rigidly secured to the horizontal bar 81 of the carriage 86. Ahandle I26 extends from the member I23 adjacent the crank member I01 formanually manipulatin the connecting rod I22 and the driven crank plateI09. It will thus be seen that rotation of the conveyor shaft roll 2|causes rotation of both the shaft I04 and the crank member I01 so as toreciprocate the carriage 86 and stacking receiver 9| in a horizontalplane adjacent and beneath the discharge end of the conveyor.

Operation The yokes 34 and 44 are adjusted so as to position the gears35 and 45 in engagement with respectively either of the gears 3I, 32 or33 and one of the cone gears 38, depending upon the desired length ofthe segments to be cut. The clutch actuating handle is then moved tooperating position so as to engage clutch plates I3I and I32 and enablethe motor 53 to drive the conveyor roll shaft 2|. Rotation of theconveyor roll shaft 2I in turn drives the rotating cutting tool 64 in acounter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1 and also causes thedriver feed roll 5I to feed the sheets I8 at a constant predeterminedspeed over a fixed cutting blade (not shown). With each cycle ofrotation of the rotary cutting blade 64, a segment will be cut from eachof the sheets 18 to form a group of superimposed segments. Eachsuccessively-cut group of segments will fall upon the upper portion ofthe conveyor belts 25 successively and in spaced arrangement. Theconveyor belts 25 will convey the segments toward the conveyor shaftroll 24 at the discharge end. of the conveyor.

As shown in Figure 1, as the discharging segmerit leaves the conveyor,the leading portion of the segment (or group of superimposed segments,depending upon whether a single sheet or a plurality ofsimultaneously-fed sheets are fed to the machine) will contact and restupon the wall 91 of the stack supporting member 94, the intermediateportion of the segment will contact the frictional sleeve 99 and thetrailing edge of the segment will fall and rest upon the angularlydisposed wall 96 of the supportin member 94. The stacking receiver 9I isactuated by the crank member I 01 to move outwardly away from thedischarge end of the conveyor and in centrally-aligned relation with, atsubstantially the same speed as, and beneath each successivelydischarging segment or segment group whereby the successive segments orsuccessive groups of segments may fall upon the stacking receiver 9I inneatly stacked arrangement. The roughened surface of the friction tube99 serves to prevent the stacked segments from sliding with respect tothe stacking receiver 9I. It will be noted that the segment stack is inthe form of an inverted V in cross-section. -When the desired number ofsegments have been stacked upon the receiver 9|, the operator may removethe segments by inserting a stack receiving element in the space betweenthe apex of the V-shaped stack and the upper portion 90 of the stacksupporting member 94 and thereby lift the segment stack upwardly off thereceiver 9|.

Although it will be obvious that the segments or segment groups will beplaced upon the con-' veyor at constant intervals irrespective of thelengths of the segments being cut, a variation in the lengths willresult in an advance or retardation of the timing of the arrival of thecenters of the segments at the discharge end with respect to the rotarycycle of the cutting knife 64 and the reciprocating cycle of thereceiver 9|. That is, assuming that the crank member I01 has beenadjusted for a particular length of segment so that the centers of thedischarging segments are directly above the stacking rod 93 as thesegments fall from the conveyor, it will be seen that if the speed ofthe driver feed roll 5| is increased so as to produce a longer segment,the trailing edges of the se ments or segment groups on the conveyorbelts 25 will be at substantially the same positions on the belts aswere the trailing edges of the shorter segments. However, it will beobvious that the leading edges of the longer segments will be positionedwith respect to the belts 25 ahead of the positions of the leading edgesof the shorter segments and,- consequently, the centers of the longersegments will be positioned on the belts 25 in advance of the positionsthat would be occupied by the centers of shorter segments. This increasein length of the segments will result in the longer segments beingstacked in an ofiset position to the right of the receiver 9| ratherthan centrally-aligned therewith. However, by providing that the drivencrank plate I09 be drivingly connected to the drive crank plate I08 in aselected angular relationship, the reciprocating cycle of the receiver9| may be advanced or retarded with respect to the rotary cycle of thecutting knife 04 so as to coordinate with the advanced or retardedtiming of the arrival of the centers of the segments at the dischargeend of the conveyor.

For instance, in the situation above described where the segments are tobe made of greater length, the operator would first adjust the positionsof the yokes 34 and 44 to increase the speed of the driver feed roll 5|and thenwould withdraw the spring-pressed detent H from its engagedrecess H4 and rotate the driven crank plate I09 in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in Figure 1, so as to enable the reciprocatorycycle of the receiver 9| to be advanced and properly timed with theadvanced timing of the arrival of the centers of the longer segments atthe discharge end of the conveyor. As shown in Figures 2, 4 and 6, afixed pointer I21 cooperates with indicia markings I28 on the peripheryof the driven crank plate I09 to indicate the required angular settingof the plate I09 for a particular speed of the driver feed roll so as tocentrally align the receiver during its outward or receiving stroke withthe discharging segment or group of segments leaving the discharge endof the conveyor. The stacking receiver 9| will receive a segment orgroup of segments during each outward stroke in a direction away fromthe discharge end of the conveyor and then will return to complete itsreciprocatory cycle before again moving outwardly to receive the nextsuccessive segment or group of segments from the belts 25 in stackedrelation to the previous segment or group of seg-' roll spacedtherefrom, a substantially horizontal continuous conveyor belt loopedaround said rolls.

.means for driving said conveyor belt at a constant speed in a directionwhereby the upper portion of the looped belt travels toward said secondroll, means for successively placing said segments upon said upper beltportion at predetermined constant intervals independent of the lengthsof the segments being cut, a stacking receiver adjacent said secondroll, means for slidably supporting said receiver for horizontalreciprocal movement in a path parallel to the direction of belt movementand in a plane below said second roll, and means adjustable inaccordance with the length of the segments being cut for moving saidreceiver at substantially the same speed a and beneath and in centrallyaligned relation with each successive segment when the segment leavesthe belt as the latter loops around said second roll whereby thesuccessively discharged segments may fall upon the receiver in alignedstacked arrangement.

2. A mechanism for receiving sheet material segments from a conveyor andstacking the same comprising a stacking receiver, means slidablysupporting the receiver for horizontal reciprocal movement, a rotatablymounted drive plate, means for rotating said plate, a second platerotatably mounted about the axis of rotation of the drive plate andfreely movable with respect to said drive plate, an adjustable positivedriving connection means between said plates for connecting said secondplate to said drive plate in any one of several selectable angularrelationships, and means connecting said second plate and said receiverfor converting the rotary motion of the second plate to reciprocatorymotion of the receiver.

3. A mechanism for receiving sheet material segments from a conveyor andstacking the same comprising a stacking receiver, means slidablysupporting the receiver for horizontal reciprocal movement, a rotatablymounted drive plate, means for rotating said plate, a second platerotatablylmounted about the axis of rotation of the drive plate andadjacent the latter and freely movable with respect to said drive plate,a plurality of recesses in one of said plates, a springpressed detentcarried by the other of said plates for selective engagement in saidrecesses whereby the plates may be drivingly connected in any one ofseveral angular relationships, and means connecting said second plateand said receiver for converting the rotary motion of the second plateto reciprocatory motion of the receiver.

4. A mechanism for receiving sheet material segments from a conveyor andstacking the same comprising a rotatably mounted drive plate, means forrotating said plate, a crank plate rotatably mounted about the axis ofrotation of the drive plate and adjacent the latter, a plurality ofrecesses in one of said plates circularly spaced about the axis ofrotation of said plates, a springpressed detent slidably mounted in theother of said plates for selective engagement in said recesses wherebythe plates may be drivingly connected in any predetermined one ofseveral angular relationships, a crank pin mounted on the crank plateand offset from the axis of rotation of the plates, a carriage, meansfor slidably mounting the carriage for horizontal reciprocal movement, astacking receiver removably mounted on the carriage, and a connectinglink connecting said crank pin and said carriage for converting therotary motion of the crank pin to reciprocatory motion of the. carriage.

5. A cutting and stacking machine comprising means for periodicallycutting a continuous sheet of material into segments, means for feedinga continuous sheet to said cutting means at a variable predeterminedspeed depending upon the desired length of the segments to be cut, a conveyor for conveying the segments away from said cutting means and havinga discharge end, means for successively placing said segments upon saidconveyor at predetermined constant time intervals independent of thelengths of the segments being cut, a rotatably mounted drive member, adriven member rotatably mounted. on the same axis of rotation as thedrive member and freely movable with respect thereto, an adjustabledrive connection between said drive and driven members for selectivelysecuring said members to each other in any one of a plurality of angularrelationships, means for actuating said drive member, conveyor andcutting means at a constant speed and in a predetermined cyclicalrelationship whereby for each position of the cutting means in its cycleof operation the drive member will be at a particular predeterminedphase of its own cycle, a stacking receiver reciprocably mountedadjacent the discharge end of the conveyor, means connecting said drivenmember and said receiver for converting the rotary motion of the drivenmember to reciprocatory motion of the receiver, and indicia means onsaid driven member for indicating the proper angular relationship ofsaid drive and driven members in accordance with the predetermined speedof the feeding means whereby the reciprocatory cycle of the receiver maybe timed so as to centrally align the receiver with each successivelydischarging segment in accordance with the lengths of the segments beingcut.

6. A cutting and stacking machine comprising intermittently operatingmeans for cutting con- 10 tinuous sheet material into segments, aconveyor for conveying cut segments away from said cutting means, and areciprocable stacking receiver disposed below the discharge end of saidconveyor, means for driving said cutting means, conveyor and receiver atconstant relativespeeds, means for feeding continuous sheet material tosaid cutting means at variable relative speed whereby segments ofvarying length may be cut, and means for varying the time relationshipof the stroke of said receiver relative to the operation of said cuttingmeans.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6, where'- in said means forvarying the time relationship of the stroke of said receiver relative tothe operation of said cutting means comprises a rotary driving memberand a rotary member driven thereby, and means for varying the angularrelationship between said rotary members.

8. A cutting and stacking machine comprising intermittently operatingmeans for cutting continuous sheet material into segments, a conveyorfor conveying cut segments away from said cutting means, and ahorizontally reciprocable stacking receiver disposed below the dischargeend of said conveyor, means for driving said cut ting means, conveyorand receiver at constant relative speeds, means for feeding thecontinuous sheet material to said cutting means at variable relativespeed whereby segments of varying length may be cut, and means forvarying the time relationship of the stroke of said receiver relative tothe operation of said cutting means, whereby segments of varying lengthmay be received on said receiver in centrally aligned relationship, saidtime relationship varying'means including a rotary driving plate and aplate driven thereby, a plurality of recesses in one of said plates anda spring-pressed detent in the other of said plates for selectiveengagement in said recesses.

FRANK R. PIPER. JAMES M. GARDNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the. file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 594,055 Wood Nov. 23, 1897965,375 Dean July 26, 1910 1,107,762 Cumfer Aug. 18, 1914 1,270,334Schumacher June 25, 1918 1,444,705 Rigler Feb. 6, 1923 2,355,105 PrestonAug. 8, 1944

